SILVER OR SULFUR

Pastor Mark Warda

Woodland Church

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

God’s creation is full of tangible things we can use to help explain abstract things; for instance, we will consider the two elements silver and sulfur – two things solid – to illustrate something spiritual

In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth and everything on the earth including humanity, who, under God, is to rule over the nonhuman parts of creation, much as God is the supreme ruler over all

“Just as powerful earthly kings, to indicate their claim to dominion, erect an image of themselves in the provinces of their empire where they do not personally appear, so man is placed upon earth in God’s image as God’s sovereign emblem.” -Gerhard von Rad, Genesis, Old Testament Library Commentary Series

We are God’s imagers, meant to be seen as the representatives of the Lord and King who is unseen

God has created us to be relational. We were not created to be alone

1. We were created for God

2. We were created for the world

3. We were created for each other

Part of being human, is the freedom to choose; and our freedom to love means we also have the freedom not to love

The serpent tempts them to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which represents the temptation to be autonomous (from the Greek words autos, “self,” and nomos, “law”).

“Autonomy means choosing oneself as the source for determining what is right and wrong, rather than relying on God’s word for direction.”  – Bartholomew and Coheen, The Drama of Scripture

Because of the Fall, we have traded shalom for suffering

God initiated a plan to redeem humankind back to Himself and restore a right relationship with Him and us

(Galatians 1:4) “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.”

Even for those of us who have asked God to forgive us of our sins; we are still tempted to sin

(Romans 8:3-6) “He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

(Romans 1:1) Paul, a Roman citizen, chose to open his letter to those in Rome with the words, “This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.”

We are either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness

No one is naturally good.  That is why we all need a Savior

(Romans 8:9) “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.”  

A flute made of silver is created for a unique purpose

We too were created for a unique purpose

A.  FOUR WAYS THAT WE ARE LIKE THE ELEMENT SILVER:

1.  Silver is a precious metal

• God calls us precious in His eyes

(Isaiah 43:4) “…you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”

2.  Silver is the most reflective metal

• We are to reflect the glory of God

(2 Corinthians 3:16-18) “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

3.  Silver is the most malleable metal, after gold, and is able to be drawn into a wire only one atom wide

• Though stretched thin, God won’t allow us to bear any burden or temptation we cannot handle

(Corinthians 10:13) “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

4.  Silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal and is able to conduct power better than any other material

• We are a conduit of God’s power through the Holy Spirit

(Romans 8:2) “the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death”

Though there’s nothing inherently good or evil with any natural element, sulfur is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation as part of God’s wrath and judgement

(Genesis 19:24) “Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.”

(Revelation 19:20, 20:10, NLT) “And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”

“Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

B.  FOUR WAYS THAT SIN IS LIKE THE ELEMENT SULFUR:

1.  Sulfur is the tenth most abundant element by mass in the universe and the fifth most common element by mass on Earth

• Sin is everywhere. All of creation has been affected by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden

(Romans 8:20-23) “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.”  

2.  Sulfur is in every living thing, every person, plant, and animal with compounds in amino acids forming protein molecules

• The evidence of sin is all around us and the temptation to sin is within all of us

(Romans 5:12) “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

3.  Sulfur emits a foul odor likened to rotten eggs

• Sin stinks! Like the sulfurous stench in natural gas warning us there is dangerous leak in our home, sin is a warning we are dangerously apart from the will of God

(Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death”

4.  Sulfur reacts with every other element except the noble gases

• No one is exempt from sin

(Romans 3:23) “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

• Only Jesus, the noble King of kings, never sinned and became the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world

(2 Corinthians 5:21) “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 

• We must think on things that are noble, true, and right instead of being controlled by our sinful nature to think about sinful things

(Philippians 4:8) “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

(Romans 8:5) “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” 

1.  Silver is analogous to Shine, Shalom, and Salvation

2.  Sulfur is analogous to Stench, Stain, Sin, and Suffering

Silver will tarnish.  The tarnish is caused by sulfur in the air

Since sin, like sulfur, is everywhere, we too become marred by the blackness of sin just like the blackness of tarnish on a silver flute or silverware utensils

Silver, found in its natural form, is not particularly shiny

It needs to be polished in order to shine as brilliantly as it was created to

Our natural tendency is to sin

We need to be forgiven in order to reflect the glory of God as we were created to

(1 John 1:9) “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

Tarnish on a flute doesn’t prevent it from being played  

It just needs to be polished

Though we’ve sinned doesn’t mean that God can’t still use us

We just need to repent

The polishing cloth removes the tarnish by taking it upon itself

Jesus took the sins of the world upon Himself at Calvary.

(1 Peter 2:24) “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.”

Tarnish left on silver long enough will begin to actually corrode the silver causing irreparable damage

Those who reject God long enough and resist the promptings of the Holy Spirit who convicts them of their sin, become numb and calloused to repentance and tragically die in their sins

(1 Timothy 4:2) “those who turn away from the true faith… their consciences have been seared as with a hot iron”

Only Jesus can remove the stench and stain of sin that leads to suffering so that you can rather shine like silver, reflecting the shalom of Christ Jesus that leads to salvation

GROWTHWORK

1.  How have you been tempted with autonomy, judging for yourself what is morally right and wrong? Have you observed this behavior in others? What would you say to them?

2.  Ask the Lord to identify any signs of tarnish in your life.

3.  What has dulled your shine and witness for Christ?

4.  What are some specific things that are noble, right, and true that you will think about in order to do what pleases the Lord?

5.  Go to the Lord daily and ask for forgiveness of sin.  Don’t let unconfessed sin keep you from fulfilling all that God has planned for your life.